Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese thought it necessary to bring a religious historical drama to the big screen. The good news is it only took him practically thirty years to do so. While quite the burden, this “passion project” of his may not provide the answers you seek, but the questions will sink deep in to your soul. Silence quietly lets uncertainty and doubt powerfully linger during this righteous yet treacherous journey.
Being a Portuguese missionary is a terrifying business to be in if you’re volunteering to spread the word of God in 17th-century Japan. It’s Catholicism versus Buddhism, and sharing the wrong belief ends in inhuman bloodshed. Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) traveled there and hasn’t been seen since. He’s gone missing, and according to his last letter, his heart was in the right place. Even so, years have now passed with vilifying rumors concerning his existence. Father Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) must go and find out the truth about their mentor.
As we follow them through a land where Christianity is forbidden, we witness the young priests’ will and determination slowly deteriorate as they watch followers of their faith be crucified, burned alive, drowned, and hung upside down in a pit where every drop of blood slowly splashes into the dirt. Rodrigues and Garupe have much more difficulty hearing God’s words through these unspeakable atrocities. Their convictions weigh heavy, feeling helpless while they stand by and watch death spill out in front of them.
Miraculously, Scorsese finds the beauty within the brutality, the peace hidden in the painful. Only a man of his high caliber could accomplish such a feat. Silence is not an easy travel, yet it’s absolutely worth it. The tremendous cast shares the same passion as their director. Driver is fully committed, praying with confidence while trembling with fear. The significance of Neeson’s performance brings an unexpected view, blurring the line between religions vying for God’s undivided attention.
And as of late, Garfield has become an incredibly impressive man of God with this and Hacksaw Ridge. Playing Rodrigues, his convictions clash by being exposed to a culture that shakes him to the core. Garfield has morphed into an immense talent, coming alive in a role where his devotion is being shredded by the blades of good and evil.
Also, a round of applause for all of the exceptional Japanese actors, but a select few will make your knuckles turn white. Issei Ogata is fantastic playing Inoue, a nefarious Inquisitor who slyly hides his poisonous fangs behind wit and politics. Only known as the Interpreter, Tadanobu Asano is brilliant at being the whisper in Rodrigues’ ear to turn his back on everything he holds dear. Both of these baddies have made a career at shattering priests’ beliefs. And you can’t have a religious tale without a Judas and Silence has a stellar one. He goes by Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka) and as much as he wants forgiveness, his numerous betrayals are hard to ignore. Even for the priests.
Religion is a necessity for some to live their lives, to make sense of incidents or experiences we couldn’t possibly comprehend nor control. Finding it is one thing, but believing through the good times and the bad, is the true testament. Silence is an implacable, unguarded, and fearless story about just that.
Scorsese’s artful work shouts to the heavens above. God better have his listening ears on.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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